The authors present a brief commentary and analysis of two problems related to 30 years of IDEA implementation: An increasing schism between general education and special education, and the unequal treatment of an entire class of students. Over the years, special education has become its own microcosm of programs and practices, making it difficult to realize an interdisciplinary approach to the education of all students. The authors analyze the possible sociopsychological implications of the categorization of students. They end with their vision of the unification of general education and special education into one education system for all students.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (1997). Public Law 105–17, 20 U.S.C. Secs. 1400 et seq.
5.
Mills v. D.C. Board of Education, 348 F. Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972).
6.
No Child Left Behind Act. (2001). Pub. Law. No. 107–110, 115 Stat. 1425.
7.
PARC v. Commonwealth, 334 F. Supp. 1257 (E.D. Pa. 1971), 343 F. Supp. 279 (E.D. Pa. 1972).
8.
SwiftJ. (1729). A modest proposal. In AbramsM. H., The Norton anthology of English literature, Vol. 1 (5th ed., pp. 2174–2181). New York: W. W. Norton, 1986.
9.
TrillingL.RothmanD. (1980). Convenience and conscience: The asylum and its alternatives in progressive America. Boston: Little, Brown.
10.
TurnbullH. R.TurnbullA. P. (2000). Free appropriate public education: The law and children with disabilities (6th ed.). Denver: Love Publishing.
